Deception
by Elodie Girl
Summary: The clues were in front of her nose the entire time- why hadn't she realised? Maybe she didn't want to see him that way, or even believe it was possible. Mallory Matsuda's a girl who lives life without regret, but when she realises that the people around her are wolves in sheep's clothing, will this change? No matter what, Mallory will face the danger with her friends by her side.
1. Introduction: Meet Mallory

**Hi Everyone! :)**

 **This is the first fanfic I've ever published, so although I've tried my hardest to proof-read there may be a few grammer and spelling errors. But as they always say, practise makes perfect! I can't promise to upload a new chapter every week, but I'll be aiming to do so within a fornight- at most a month.**

 **Please enjoy, and let me know how I can improve!**

* * *

"All Day Students return to your dorms!" Yuki yelled, trying to hold back the wave of students that were screaming for the attention of the Night Students that were just visible from the gate to the Moon Dorm.

Zero simply glared at the Day Students, which sent all the girls in his vicinity scrambling for safety several hundred meters away from the hostile young man.

"You'll never find a girlfriend with _that_ face."

Zero rolled his eyes as the short Mallory Matsuda casually slung an arm around his waist. Her delicate hand rested upon his hipbone, and she smiled up at him provocatively.

"Maybe I don't want one." Zero replied impassively, firmly but gently removing the girl's hand from his hip.

Unperturbed, Mallory nimbly leapt onto Zero's back.

"Mal!" Zero huffed, catching her legs around his waist and growling in irritation as her hands ruffled his hair.

"Maybe a boyfriend then, if you're not into girls." Mallory murmured, "Aidou perhaps, or his cousin… Akatsuki." She seemed to savour the name, rolling it around in her mouth.

Zero roughly dropped Mallory from his back, forcefully pulling her hands from his shoulders.

"Zero!" Mallory complained.

Zero glared at her, his eyes livid, "I'm not _gay_ , and even if I were I would never consider one of those… _monsters_."

Mallory raised her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay." She replied, with a cheeky smile, "Point taken. I didn't think you were gay."

Sighing in exasperation, Zero shook his head with his lips pressed tightly together.

"So you won't mind if _I_ sleep with one of them, then?"

Zero blanched, "No!"

"You don't mind?" Mallory replied, her voice indicating a level of playful amusement.

"N-No, I mind! You can't be serious?" Zero fumed incredulously.

Mallory shrugged, "You can't deny they're attractive."

Zero grabbed the girl by the shoulders, "Tell me you're joking."

Smiling sensually, Mallory reached out a hand and let her finger trail over Zero's cheekbone, "Oh, but you could cut glass with this." She chuckled, "If I can't have them, can I have you?"

Zero snorted, letting go of Mallory's shoulders and abruptly stalking away in the direction of the gate to the Moon Dorm where Night Class students were starting to arrive from their dorm.

Mallory grinned in entertainment and followed the irate prefect to the gate.

As she pushed through the crowd of fervent students, Mallory caught sight of the Night Students in their ivory uniforms. They enthralled her, but not to the point of fanatical adoration- no one was worth that much without giving something of equal worth in return.

Mallory elegantly perched herself on top of the stone wall on the side of the path, nonchalantly swinging her legs as she waited for the gate to open. She could hear Yuuki loudly protesting at the gate, trying to keep them away from the Night Students.

"STAND BACK!" Yelled Yuki, desperately trying to stop the students from surging forwards, "PLEASE, DON'T PUSH!"

The gates opened.

The Night Students strolled forwards and with his usual charisma, Aidou was leading the assembly. It was quite the performance to watch as 'Idol' launched into an energetic greeting of the fanatical Day Students.

The classes slowly mingled (despite Yuuki's protests for the classes to move to their respective locations) and Mallory was distracted as she saw Zero disappear into the forest.

"Good afternoon."

Mallory glanced to her side and grinned when she noticed Ichijou standing near her.

"Afternoon, Dorm Vice President!" She replied, leaping onto the path and brazenly embracing the young man in greeting.

With slightly pink cheeks, Ichijou gave a nervous laugh, "You're certainly in good spirits today!" He commented, while awkwardly fluttering his hands around where Mallory's held his torso loosely.

Taking pity on Ichijou, Mallory let him out of the embrace. "Any news?" She asked, standing back a little to make Ichijou more comfortable with the return of his personal space.

"Nothing of importance," Ichijou replied, "I haven't had the time to read anything interesting."

Mallory pouted, "Is this becoming a habit? Maybe I need to find a new book lover." She teased.

Ichijou laughed again, but with more ease than when she had embraced him. "I've got a new collection of books being sent in the next week. I'll bring you one I think you'll enjoy."

"That sounds very agreeable." Mallory said enthusiastically.

She and Ichijou had bonded over books, and he would lend her books he recommended in return for books that she recommended. Their tastes were similar, but Mallory had more knowledge in books published in the last couple of decades, whereas Ichijou was more inclined to read books that were centuries old. He had the money to buy first edition copies of books that Mallory could only dream of.

"You're not seriously talking about books again, are you?"

Mallory and Ichijou turned simultaneously to see Aidou sauntering in their direction with a crowd of Day Class students following closely behind him.

"If you don't appreciate literature, you're missing out on a richer life." Mallory replied assertively.

Aidou laughed and patted her head condescendingly, "I'm already rich. I don't need books for that."

"Material goods are worthless in comparison to having a sharp mind." Mallory argued, her hand on her hip.

"Oh, but I've got that too." Aidou replied silkily, giving her a flirtatious smirk, "You're smelling deliciously tantalizing today."

"Hanabusa." Ichijou rebuked sharply. His eyes bore into the younger man's with a fierce intensity, conveying a message of warning that Mallory caught but said nothing of.

Aidou's lip briefly curled in contempt- but after a moment passed, his face relaxed and he self-consciously ran a hand though his hair, "Well, if I can't-"

"Dorm President Kuran's requesting we join him." Interrupted a deep voice.

Aidou slouched, but conceded "Very well." He murmured, looking to Akatsuki, who had spoken.

"We'll see you tomorrow then, Mallory." Ichijou said, taking his leave.

Mallory grinned, "Yes. Do tell me when the books arrive!"

"I will." Ichijou replied, smiling.

As he walked off, Aidou leaned in close to Mallory, his cheek brushing her jaw line with his mouth just beside her ear.

"Takuma just wants you for himself." He whispered, "He thinks you smell appetizing as well."

He left without looking in her eyes, but she could almost feel the arrogance oozing from his body… The prat.

Only Akatsuki was left.

"He loves himself, doesn't he?" Mallory asked dryly.

Akatsuki gave a slight chuckle, "Yeah," He replied, "but you could say the same about yourself."

"You're not wrong." Mallory agreed, flicking her hair, "Then again, I'm worth a little love." She said, looking at Akatsuki suggestively.

He just rolled his eyes.

"Pity." She murmured, "I think your class is waiting on you now." Mallory noticed.

Akatsuki nodded in farewell, and strode towards his peers, leaving Mallory by herself. Only a few Day Class students remained, and Yuki was working to remove them.

"Please, just go to your dorms!" Yuki pleaded to a gaggle of giggling students whose gazes nearly sparkled with idolization at the disappearing Night Students.

Mallory stood by her friend, and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Having trouble?" She asked.

Yuki nodded wordlessly.

"Hey girls," Mallory started in a sugary voice, "I heard Idol's planning to sneak back and visit some of the Day Class at the Sun Dorm."

The girls spun towards Mallory, their mouths dropping open.

" _WHAAAT?_ " The girls cried.

"Yeah! Hurry, get there as quick as you can or you'll miss out!" Mallory urged, shooing them with her hands.

The girls sprinted towards their dorm, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.

Yuki gave a groan, "Aidou's sneaking back?" She asked hysterically.

Mallory nearly facepalmed.

"No, Yuki. I was lying."

The brunette considered her words.

"Oh." She mumbled.

Mallory sighed in exasperation. "Let's get back to the dorms ourselves."


	2. Matters Of Shakespeare

**Hello, wonderful readers!**

 **Thanks for taking an interest in this story, it's very fun to write. I'm still getting a feel for my OC Mallory but I'm getting the impression she's going to be _awesome_. **

**As I've mentioned, this is my first published fanfic so please, pretty please, leave a review so I know if I'm writing poorly/writing well or if there's something I need to change :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC Mallory.**

 **Enjoy your reading!**

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The class was divided into two: students who were looking to the teacher in rapt attention and students who were feeling a little less than enthusiastic. The most obvious of the latter was Yuki, whose head lay on the desk as she snored ever so gently.

Mallory prodded Yuki's side with her finger experimentally, wondering how she could possibly fall asleep in such an environment. The wooden desks of the lecture theatre were by no means comfortable.

When Yuki gave no response, Mallory jabbed her harder.

Still, no response.

Giving up, Mallory looked to Yori and shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"Is there any point in waking her?" Mallory asked.

Yori looked to Yuki and smiled serenely, "She's had a lot of trouble sleeping. It's be a pity to wake her now." She replied quietly.

"She'll be woken soon enough anyway." Mallory muttered, her eyes flicking to the teacher, who was right in the middle of explaining the complex motifs and themes of Shakespeare's _Hamlet_. But sooner or later, he'd call Yuki out on sleeping in class.

"Maybe you can cause a distraction."

Mallory looked to Yori in surprise, "You hate my distractions." She said with a frown of confusion.

Yori gave a slightly sheepish smile, "Well, I haven't done my homework," she replied, "And in about ten minutes Professor Hinamori's going to check that each student has completed last night's study questions."

"Very well." Mallory murmured, grinning in anticipation.

In between her frequent glances to the clock, Mallory's thoughts wandered towards the Night Students. What did they do in the daytime? Why didn't they attend classes at the same time as the Day Students? It wasn't as though the lecture theatres and study halls didn't have enough room to cater for the extra students. Mallory knew that some of the Night Students had jobs- Senri and Rima were models and Aido often contributed to scientific journals- so why were they still at school?

"Mallory." Yori whispered urgently.

Mallory shook her head from where it had been among the clouds and realized that Professor Hinamori was glaring at the sleeping Yuki.

"PROFESSOR!" Mallory yelled, flinging her hand into the air.

"Use your indoor voice!" Professor Hinamori snapped, his sharp gaze swinging from Yuki to Mallory.

Mallory gave a pout, "Sir, I'm having a lot of trouble with this play."

"That's unfortunate, but you can see me after class if you're having significant issues. I'm about to check homework." The professor replied crisply, his gaze returning to Yuki.

"But Sir, while I'm finding it easy to empathize with Ophelia's character, I strongly object to Hamlet and his misogynistic actions." Mallory pleaded, gaining the professor's attention once more.

"After class, Matsuda."

Mallory hopped up onto her desk, "WHEREFORE ART THOU EQUALITY?" She yelled, " _THERE ARE MORE DREAMS IN HEAVEN AND EARTH, HORATIO_ -"

"MATSUDA!" Professor Hinamori shouted, "GET OFF THE DESK!"

The class was watching the heated interaction with amusement, many of them familiar with Mallory's antics.

" _FRAILTY, THY NAME IS WOMAN_!" Mallory shouted, "HOW CAN HAMLET BE SO SEXIST? HE'S JUST JEALOUS THAT HIS MOTHER HAS A LOVER WHEN HIS OWN OPHELIA IS SICK OF HIM AND HIS FAMILY ISSUES!"

There was muffled laughter throughout the room.

"GET. OFF. THE. DESK." Professor Hinamori raged, slapping his hands onto his own desk.

" _What is Matsuda doing?"_ Asked one of the students behind Mallory to Yori.

" _Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."_ Yori quoted, then replied in a soft voice, "I forgot my homework."

" _WORDS, WORDS, WORDS!"_ Mallory continued, "THE PROFESSOR DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH, METHINKS!"

The light chuckles in the room turned into full-blown gales of laughter at the fact Mallory was arguing with the teacher using quotes from _Hamlet_.

Pulling his hair with his hands, the professor gritted his teeth in frustration.

Mallory blew him a cheeky kiss, and that was the last straw.

The teacher had finally reached his limit.

"CLASS DISMISSED!" He bellowed, dismissing them with a violent wave of his arm.

"MATSUDA, DETENTION TOMMOROW!"

Mallory bowed and hopped off the desk, just in time to see Yuki awaken.

"Of course you're awake now." Mallory muttered, dragging Yuki towards the door with all the other rushing students.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked drowsily.

Mallory let out snigger, "You just missed the act of the century." She replied, letting go of Yuki as she had reached full consciousness.

The corridor was now empty save for Mallory, Yuki and Yori.

Yuki rubbed her eyes and looked around, "Did Zero turn up for class?" She asked, while taking her bag from Yori with a word of thanks.

"I don't believe so." Mallory said with a grin, "He seems to think that class is voluntary rather than mandatory, a belief which I endorse rather strongly."

Yuki's nose scrunched up in disapproval, "He should be in class." She complained grumpily.

"I don't why you don't just skip a couple of classes to sleep as well, Yuki. You're the headmaster's daughter, it's not like he couldn't fix your grades." Mallory said casually.

"Mallory!" Yuki protested, scandalized at her words.

"Hey, you don't have too." Mallory replied, unashamed at her immoral thinking.

Yuki didn't reply, distracted by the sight of Zero who was coming around the corner of the corridor.

"ZERO!" Yuki yelled.

The boy flinched, already cringing at what was to come- Yuki's rant.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU IN CLASS?" Yuki demanded, angrily stomping over to the other member of the disciplinary committee.

"I didn't want to." Zero replied bluntly.

Yuki glared at him. "It's our responsibility as the disciplinary committee to set an example to the other students!" She said stubbornly.

"Huh." Zero replied, bored.

"DON'T JUST ' _HUH'_ ME!" Yuki screeched, "THIS IS SERIOUS!"

Mallory slipped her hand over Yuki's mouth, "Give him a break, Yuki." She said, amused at the other girl's straight lace ethical code.

Yuki's protests were muffled by Mallory's hand.

"Get to your dorm, Zero. Sleep there, not the stables." Mallory said to Zero sympathetically.

Zero gave her a tired smile, "I would, but I have to see Professor Ikeda." He nodded in farewell and continued walking along the corridor.

Mallory took her hand off Yuki's mouth and ruffled her hair.

"He's a free spirit, Yuki. You can't help that." Mallory chuckled, feeling the sense of exasperation that was exuding from Yuki.

"Isn't Zero meant to be helping you at the Moon Dorm Gate this afternoon?" Asked Yori, who had been patiently standing aside as Zero and Yuki argued.

"You're right." Yuki mumbled, "I hate working alone."

"He'll turn up." Mallory replied.

"I hope so." Yuki said with a yawn, "Are you going to come with me?"

Mallory shrugged, "I might sit this one out." She replied, "I've got a bit of homework to do and I won't be able to do it during lunch tomorrow because of my detention."

Yuki's mouth dropped, "Again? What's it for this time?" She exclaimed.

"Saving your arse." Mallory replied with a grin, "I was involved in a heated debate about _Hamlet_."

"It wasn't a debate," Yori put in with a smile, "as you were really the only participant."

"That's true." Mallory acknowledged.

Yori looked at her watch. "I've got to go. The choir has a rehearsal in half an hour, I need to prepare."

"Have fun!" Yuki exclaimed, hugging Yori.

Mallory smiled and embraced the girl as well, "Don't stay too late. Last time you nearly fell asleep with Yuki during class because the choir leader was determined to perfect songs from _Carmen_ in one night."

Yori laughed, "I'll try not too, but Momoka is very persuasive." She waved farewell as she wandered down the corridor.

"Well, I might head to the Sun Dorm." Mallory said, "Are you going to come?" She asked Yuki.

"I'll walk with you, but I need to see the Head Master." Yuki replied.

Mallory gave a snort, "I hope it's to demand you get more time to sleep and less time as a member of the disciplinary committee."

Yuki smiled with a thoughtful expression. "No, it's important to make sure that students follow the rules. It's to keep everyone safe."

"Safe from what?" Mallory replied, "There's nothing dangerous here."

When Yuki's eyes darkened, Mallory felt the urge to ask her friend if she was wrong. But she held her tongue.

Yuki seemed to sense Mallory's curiosity and was quick to change the subject, "So you've got detention tomorrow, huh?"

Mallory nodded, still slightly suspicious that something was amiss. What was it? Was Yuki in danger? Did she have something to hide? Surely she would have let her secret slip at some point- maybe Yori knew?

Mallory's heart felt odd. She didn't want to think that Yuki was hiding something from her, but at the same time she felt a need to protect her friend from whatever it was. Or _whoever_ it was.

"Yeah, detention tomorrow. Bit of a pain, I was hoping to flirt with our very own Class President Kaseumi."

"What for?" Yuki asked in confusion.

"Fun."

Yuki frowned, "That's not very nice."

"Relax. I won't tease him if he's really uncomfortable." Mallory assured Yuki, "Flirting is fun but harassment is not."

"Oh, come on. Let's head back to the Dorm so I can see the Head Master before I need to watch the Day Students at the Night Dorm Gate." Yuki said, linking arms with Mallory.

"Good idea."


End file.
